Arrival notice book



y Oct. 25, 1932. J, B HANNAN 1,884,669 n ARRIVAL NOTICE BooK Filed May 17, 1929 mi M mun u 5 nys 1a Patented Oct. 25, 1932 UNHTED PATENT FFCE JOHN B. HANNAN, DECEASED, LATE F INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, BY MARY M. E. HANNAN, EXECUTRIX, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA ARRIVAL NOTICE BOOK Application. ied May 17, 1929. Serial No. 333,861.

The invention relates to an arrival notice book, designed particularly with a view to its use in freight oiiices, and an object of the invention is to provide a book by means of i? which a record of the arrival notices which are sent out by freight agents may be made in a book at the same time that the envelope is prepared in which the notice is to be mailed to the consignee of the freight.

l A further object is to provide means for making a record of the fact and time of mailing the notices, in order not only to provide a record of the data which is sent to the consignes but also to have evidence to support 'l the fact that notices were sent as indicated in the record book.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, which is made a part hereof, and on which similar reference characters indicate similar 253 parts,

Figure 1 is a perspective of the book of the invention with part of a carbon sheet rolled back and torn away to illustrate other features of the book,

Figure 2 is an end view of the book, and

Figure 3 is a view showing details of construction of the envelopes used in the book.

In the drawing, numerals and 11 indicate the front and back covers of a book in which are bound record sheets for use in keeping information relative to freight service. The filling of the book comprises alternate sheets 13 and envelopes 14 bound at their left ends in the book. The sheets 13 have their under side covered with carbon 15 or other transfer medium by means of which writing made on the top of the sheet will be recorded on the face of the envelope 14 beneath. The left margin of the sheet 13 is ruled and marked for the recording of suitable data in connection with the service, as will be more fully described. The envelopes 14 are perforated along the left end at a line 16, by means of which these envelopes may be readily detached from the book. The legends upon the left margin of the envelopes correspond to those immediately above them on the sheet 13. Each sheet 13 may 0 have a plurality of envelopes 14 as shown,

in order to make a book capable of serving a great number of transactions. The inner side of the front cover 10 is also ruled and marked for recording data in connection with a mailing of the arrival notices which are enclosed in the envelopes 14. The purpose of this latter c ata is to supply evidence that notices were mailed in case the consignee fails to receive notice of the arrival of his freight, and consequently declines to pay demurrage charges.

rlfhe method of using the invention is as follows: 1When freight has been received at a station, the freight agent makes out arrival notices on well known forms. These notices are numbered, such for example as 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and the numbers recorded on the left margin of sheet 13, as shown in Fig. 1, of envelope number one. The agent then addresses the notices, writing upon the face of sheet 13, as for example to J. W. Smith, 45 Main St., St. Louis, Mo., and notes the name of the station from which the arrival notice is sent at the upper left hand corner, as shown for example from A. B. C. Ry., St. Louis, Mo. The agent then writes his name or initials in the space designated initialed by and notes the date and hour in the space provided for this data. He then detaches the envelope 14 immediately beneath, on the face of which the writing on the sheet 13 has been recorded, and encloses in the envelope 14 arrival notices 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, as shown. The envelopes are ready to be mailed. If the consignee fails to receive his notice there is no record by means of which the agent can prove that notices were actually sent. To correct this defect, spaces are provided on the inner cover of the book, upon which to record the time of actual mailing of the envelopes, for example en- 9U velopes 1 to 6 may be made out by the agent T. M. B. as indicated. After these envelopes have all been correctly addressed and the freight arrival notices enclosed within them they are either mailed by the agent himself or given to some one whose duty it is to mail them.. W'hen the envelopes are actually mailed the person mailing them initials the fact of mailing, the number of envelopes mailed, and the date and hour at which they are mailed, las indicated at 17 here shown as envelopes 1 to 6 mailed by me, J. F. M., on Feb. 2, at 5 oclock. rIhis latter record provides the data by which the agent may be able to establish the fact that the record no tices were actually mailed to the address on the envelopes as indicated on the ofiice record on the face of sheet 13 in the book.

The record on the margin of sheet 13 shows what arrival notices were enclosed in the envelopes and the face of the sheet 13 is a facsimile of the address on the envelopes, so that any errors in addressing the envelopes are preserved as a record. Misdirected en'- velopes therefore can be checked and the errors arising therefrom may be corrected.

The envelopes themselves are made by having one end of the envelope somewhat longer than the other and sealing together the top and bottom of the envelope along a rather wide margin, as at 18. This margin is bound into the book and the perforation made so that when the envelope is detached its end is sealed to provide a complete envelope.

It is well known in the law of evidence that records made by one whose duty it is to make them during 'the ordinary course of business are receivable in evidence to establish the facts which the record purportsl to record.

The record in this book therefore supplies the necessary data to enable the freight agent to collect demurrage charges for freight from those who may deny that they received notices of the arrival of the freight, the fact of mailing the notices being all that is required by law to give the railroad the right to collect demurrage charges.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the device without departing from'the spirit of the invention, which therefore, is not limited to what is shown in the drawing and described in the specification, vbut only as set forth in the appended claim.

Having thus fully described the said invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

A freight arrival notice book comprising a front and a back cover and a plurality of appropriately aligned record sheets and envelopes secured in alternate relation along one edge in the book, the record sheets having a transfer medium on the under side by means of which records made on the sheet will be simultaneously made on the face of the envelope beneath it, one end of the envelope being secured in the book and having a line of perforations by means of which the envelope may be detached from the book, this end of the envelope being glued along a strip which extends in suiiiciently past the line of perforations to insure that the end of the envelope will be closed when detached from H the book, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 10th day of May, A. D., nineteen hundred and 

